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Demonstrators turned out in force in several Japanese cities in the run-up to the second anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

March 11 is the exact date of the earthquake and tsunami that sent the Dai-ichi nuclear plant into multiple meltdowns – but since then protesters say little has changed.

Instead of seeking alternative ways of generating energy they claim the government intends to restart the damaged reactors and may even build new ones.

Housewife,Kazuko Moto said she had wanted to join the rally as nuclear power still exists even though it’s almost two years since the disaster.

There were also protests in the French capital where thousands joined hands across Paris and and encircled government buildings which play a key role in the French nuclear industry.

Greenpeace spokeswoman Sophia Majnoni said: “I think Fukushima was quite a shock for French people because it was happening in a very industrialised country, in a country like ours. And that’s maybe why people feel more concerned by the Fukushima accident than by the one at Chernobyl.”

And in Germany protesters staged a mock radioactive contamination exercise outside one of the country’s nuclear plants.

Although Berlin has speeded up the decommissioning of its reactors in the wake of Fukushima, environmentalists claim it’s not acting fast enough.